McCarthy says not to run for US House speaker again

WASHINGTON -- Kevin McCarthy, who was unseated as US House speaker on Tuesday, told Republican colleagues that he will not run for speaker again.

"I will not run for speaker again. I'll have the (Republican) conference pick somebody else," McCarthy told reporters after a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers Tuesday night.

The remarks came just a few hours after the Republican-controlled House approved an unprecedented motion to oust McCarthy as speaker.

"I don't regret standing up for choosing governing over grievance. It is my responsibility. It is my job. I do not regret negotiating. Our government is designed to find compromise," McCarthy said.

The 216-210 vote ended McCarthy's nine-month speakership, marking the first time in US history that a House speaker has been voted out of office in the middle of a term.

Eight Republicans joined Democrats in removing McCarthy from the speakership, less than one day after hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz filed a resolution to remove McCarthy through a process known as "a motion to vacate."

Gaetz and other hardline Republicans had warned for weeks they would move to oust McCarthy if McCarthy relied on Democrats to pass funding legislation.

Republican Representative Patrick T. McHenry from North Carolina has been named acting speaker of the House after the ousting. The House now need to elect a new speaker.

US President Joe Biden has urged the House to quickly elect a speaker. "The urgent challenges facing our nation will not wait," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement soon after the House vote unseated MaCarthy.

"President Biden has demonstrated that he is always eager to work with both parties in Congress in good faith on behalf of the American people," Jean-Pierre said.

"Once the House has met their responsibility to elect a speaker, he looks forward to working together with them and with the Senate to address the American peoples' priorities," Jean-Pierre said.